Name: Outskirts: feminisms along the edge Publisher: The University of Western Australia, Women's
Studies Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 The University of Western Australia,
Women's Studies ISSN:0445-0445

Issue:

Date: May, 2012 Source Volume: 26

Topic:

Event Code: 310 Science & research; 290 Public affairs

Persons:

Named Person: Bingle, Lara; Fevola, Brendan

Geographic:

Geographic Scope: Australia Geographic Code: 8AUST Australia

Accession Number:

292853431

Full Text:

Introduction

Over the period of a few short weeks in 2010 Australian media
coverage and public discussion was dominated by news of a 'sex
scandal' involving two high-profile celebrities--Lara Bingle (model
and then fiancee of the vice-captain of the Australian cricket team
Michael Clarke), and the Australian rules football 'bad boy'
Brendan Fevola. The scandal began with the publication of a pixellated
photograph in the popular Australian women's magazine, Woman's
Day, of a naked and apparently unconsenting Bingle in the shower, which
was allegedly taken by Fevola during a brief affair years previously and
distributed via his mobile phone. Fevola was married at the time of the
affair and when the image subsequently went viral. As is the nature of
celebrity scandal, this one held the public's interest for a short
time before being superseded by another of its kind, yet the explosion
of media commentary and debate it generated raises a number of
persistent issues regarding gender, sexuality, celebrity and sport in
Australia as they circulate around heterosexuality and white privilege.

This article examines the constructions of women's sexuality,
gender and celebrity scandal in mainstream media coverage of this event.
There is little doubt that the pervasive, instant and wide-reaching
nature of digital communication technologies, coupled with the potent
mixture of celebrity, nudity and infidelity, precipitated the mainstream
media production of the Bingle-Fevola scandal. In turning our attention
toward the Australian news media's discursive constructions of
Bingle's sexual behaviour, we begin to map the ways in which
celebrity scandals in the mainstream media provoke wider debate about
'gender appropriate' conduct (sexual and otherwise). What
constitutes a 'legitimate' enactment of femininity or
masculinity is contestable, as evidenced by the variety of responses to
the scandal offered by media commentators, which ranged from demonising
Bingle to promoting her as a feminist icon, as well as characterising
her ex-fiance Clark as both effeminate and manly. This coexistence of
feminist and anti-feminist themes in mainstream representational and
discursive practice is indicative of a contemporary postfeminist media
climate, as identified by Rosalind Gill (Gill 2007b: 149). It is against
this backdrop that we situate our analysis, coming to an agreement with
sociologist Joshua Gamson (2001, p. 158) that "contemporary sex
scandals are shocking less for the sexual behaviours involved than for
the ways they replay stock female roles that 'enlightened'
societies often claim to have outgrown."

Scandal, Media and Celebrity

'Scandal' is a term that is often liberally used in media
coverage--largely due to the fact that, in spite of the disapproval of
"media scholars and columnists" (Bird 1997, p. 99) society
likes scandal (sex scandals possess particular appeal) and enjoys being
privy to the exposed disparities between the public and private lives of
those involved (Thompson 1997, p. 55). By consequence, media
organisations thrive off "selling scandal" and in many
instances, fuel and shape the scandal story (Thompson 1997, p. 49).
According to social theorist John Thompson, scandal involves the
transgression of "certain values, norms or moral codes" (1997,
p. 39). Such a transgression must be known to others, some of whom may
believe it is "morally discreditable" (Thompson 1997, p. 43)
and feel compelled to express these views publicly (through newspaper
articles, for instance), and in the process espouse and reaffirm
particular cultural values and socially prescribed norms. What is deemed
to be scandalous, however, is not timeless--rather, it is "deeply
rooted in culturally and historically-specific ideas about how
individuals are expected to behave" (Lumby 1999, p. 175).

Being in the public eye, celebrities are especially susceptible to
being the subject of scandal (Thompson 1997, p. 40), with the
pervasiveness of celebrity stories in the contemporary media increasing
dramatically in recent years (Lumby 1999, p. 108; Turner, Bonner &
Marshall 2000, p. 2). Contemporary celebrities have been defined as
"anyone the public is interested in" (Turner, Bonner &
Marshall 2000, p. 9)--regardless of any particular skills or
achievements (Evans 2005, p. 15)--and tend to have emerged from the
"sports or entertainment industries" (Turner 2010, p. 310).
Given the increasing commercialisation and globalisation of sport
(Albury and Lumby 2010, p. 289), sportsmen are particularly popular
subjects for media coverage, especially if it involves the exposure and
discussion of "scandalous private behaviours" (Albury and
Lumby 2010, p. 286). As cultural commentator David Rowe (2006, p. 18)
states, "enormous cultural visibility, rich rewards, powerful fan
passions and media hunger for copy inevitably bring the searchlight into
sport's hidden places." Indeed, The Age sports journalist Jake
Niall (cited in Albury and Lumby 2010, p. 288) argues that the biggest
sport stories no longer even concern sport, but sex, drugs or gambling
scandals.

In recent years, a proliferation in the number of sexual
misdemeanours (including allegations of gang rape and sexual assault)
committed by international and domestic sportsmen have been the subject
of considerable media speculation and interest (Benedict 1997; Coad
2008; Rowe 2006; Waterhouse-Watson 2011 & 2012), tarnishing the
reputations of individuals and sporting codes and damaging the
traditional public image of male athletes as idealised role models
(Messner and Sabo 1994, p. 33; Rowe 2006, p. 16). What distinguishes the
Bingle-Fevola incident from other sport sex scandals is that consent in
sexual relations is not the primary issue, but rather the unconsensual
capturing and distribution of a nude photograph. As one half of
Australia's answer to "Posh 'n' Becks" (Maley
2010, np)--as internationally famous soccer star, David Beckham and his
wife, former 'Spice Girl' Victoria are widely known--the
publication of a nude, albeit pixellated, photograph of Lara Bingle was
bound to be scandalous.

The photograph, published in the March 2010 edition of Woman's
Day, shows Bingle naked in the shower, trying to cover herself with her
hand (Byrne 2010, np) and wearing an expression that indicates that the
photograph was taken against her wishes. The scandal "divided the
nation" according to the Herald Sun (Langmaid 2010, np). However,
following a paid interview with Woman's Day to discuss her plight,
public support for Bingle eroded (Penberthy 2010, np). The interview
also, apparently, lost her the support of her fiance, Michael Clarke,
who flew back from New Zealand (where he was on tour with the Australian
cricket team) and incited criticism from cricket commentators in the
process. Ultimately, the media "whirlwind" ended with the
announcement that Clarke and Bingle had ended their engagement (Benns
& Marcus 2010, np).

Method

This paper employs discourse analysis to explore articles generated
in response to the scandal by the Australia's major, mainstream
newspapers that are either owned by the traditionally conservative News
Limited or its liberal rival, Fairfax. The coverage afforded to this
scandal by both tabloid and broadsheet publications can be seen as
further evidence of the media's obsession with "fame,
celebrity, public confession and scandal" (Lumby 1999, p. xi) and
is indicative of the transformation of traditional news formats
(including sports news) to encompass gossip, celebrity and lifestyle
entertainment genres (Rowe 2004, Wenner 1998). The articles selected for
analysis date from March 2, 2010 until March 23, 2010--a period that
spans the appearance of the compromising photograph of Bingle in
Woman's Day and the subsequent media coverage of the scandal.
Nineteen articles published by mainstream Australian newspapers were
deemed relevant for this paper. In order for an article to be considered
relevant, the Bingle-Fevola scandal had to inform the main focus of the
article. For this reason stories concerning the performance of
Bingle's cricketer fiance were included but articles in which the
scandal was mentioned only in passing were excluded. The news stories
for analysis were obtained from the Factiva database or the
publications' websites. Eighteen articles were analysed, with the
vast majority of the articles being sourced from Fairfax's The
Sydney Morning Herald and its Melbourne counterpart The Age, in addition
to material from News Limited's tabloids The Daily Telegraph and
Herald Sun (from Sydney and Melbourne respectively, Australia's two
largest cities) and the national broadsheet, The Australian. In
addition, two Herald Sun articles were utilised to provide additional
background information on the scandal.

Media coverage of this scandal was chosen as the primary site of
analysis because the "media has become the key site for defining
codes of sexual conduct" (McRobbie 2004, p. 258), hence can
illuminate broader public perceptions of the kinds of gender enactments
that are culturally endorsed and/or demonised in specific socio-cultural
contexts. Written content of the articles forms the focus of this
critique and we employ academic John E. Richardson's approach to
discourse analysis--the "functionalist approach to discourse"
(2007, p. 24), which makes the assumption that language is active. In
order to properly interpret an article that, for instance, makes
disparaging comments about Lara Bingle's private life, it is
necessary to work out what the writer is "doing through
discourse" (Richardson 2007, p. 24) and therefore, "how this
'doing' is linked to wider inter-personal, institutional,
socio-cultural and material contexts" (Richardson 2007, p. 24).

Object-ions in the Press

Coverage of the scandal pivoted on whether the publication of a
questionably obtained, unconsensual nude photograph is justifiable.
According to Woman's Day editor, Fiona Connolly (cited in Hunter
2010, np), the photograph had been "doing the rounds" among
cricketers and footballers "for a long time." Connolly (cited
in Hunter 2010, np) states that the photograph "was just about to
be published by newspapers" and subsequently appeared on "many
a website." These comments suggest that Connolly is unfazed by
Bingle's inevitable humiliation and embarrassment and that it is
perfectly acceptable to objectify a public figure. As commentator Sally
Robbins (2010, np) of The Sydney Morning Herald states, one "would
have thought that Woman's Day and Fiona Connolly would have been
looking out for the interests of the woman rather than the man in the
Bingle/Fevola dynamic." Instead, she suggests that Connolly
decision to publish the photograph was motivated by the fact that
"Lara Bingle is beautiful and in the public interest so she sells
magazines" (Robbins 2010, np).

Such commentary not only upholds a narrow, conservative notion of
what is considered beautiful, but also suggests that Bingle's
white, hetero-appealing beauty provides her with the privileged access
to publicity that makes her scandal newsworthy within the media. What
these narratives imply is that the ongoing benefits Bingle receives from
celebrity-hood, along with the immediate boost to her media profile as a
result of the incident, nullify any rights she might have to privacy or
consent, lending further credence to the argument for publication.
Furthermore, Connolly's comments and Woman's Day's
decision to publish the photograph (originally captured on Fevola's
mobile phone) supports the notion that it is commonly women who bear the
social stigma in the phenomenon of 'sexting', which involves
the distribution of sexually explicit photos of oneself or others via
text message (Toffoletti 2010, np). Often with little control over the
production, dissemination and publication of compromising photos taken
by mobile cameras, women (like Bingle) are not only objectified as a
result of the circulation of such images but also 'pay the
price' for their unwitting involvement through the judgement and
condemnation that ensues from the scandal.

Amidst claims that the circulation of a nude image of Bingle is
justifiable due to her female celebrity 'object-status'
emerged critiques of this position in several newspaper articles.
Robbins, for example, is critical of the notion that, because Bingle had
previously posed in "semi-nude photos as a bikini model"
(Robbins 2010, np), she is fair game. The photograph of Bingle in the
shower, Robbins notes, "was taken and distributed without her
consent, which is one of the worst forms of harassment and bullying, and
an unforgivable breach of privacy." Herald Sun social commentator
Susie O'Brien (2010, np) also supports this view, stating that
"like her or not, Bingle has a right to choose how we see
her." Journalist Jacqueline Maley (2010, np) of The Sydney Morning
Herald constructs the crime that has been committed against Bingle
almost as if she has been raped, stating that "the argument that
because she consented once, she loses all right to refuse in the future,
well, nobody still thinks like that, do they?" Given the actions of
Woman's Day, it is possible that such theorising still stands.
Whilst the unauthorised publication of photographs by newspapers is
nothing new, these journalists appear to be particularly concerned with
the implication that Bingle's career choice somehow renders her
need to consent to such photographs, their distribution and her right to
privacy obsolete.

It may seem reassuring that some media commentators condemn the
insinuation that Bingle's career as a bikini model makes the
digital distribution, and eventual publication, of such an intimate
photograph justifiable. Nonetheless, the publication of the photograph
in Woman's Day exists as a poignant reminder of just how
unremarkable the objectification and "sexualisation of women's
bodies in public space" (Gill 2007a, p. 1) by a range of media
outlets has become in a postfeminist age (Gill 2009). The condemnation
of the objectification and sexualisation of women in popular culture has
not resulted in the diminishment of such imagery, or the persistent
gender ideologies that sustain them. Fuelled, in part, by a cultural
obsession with celebrity, gender articulations that emphasise the
sexualisation of women's bodies and sexual difference appear to
circulate with as much, if not more, vigour that ever before in the
western mediasphere (Gill 2007b, 149).

Sexual Reputations

Bingle is commonly constructed as a sexually active subject in
media reports of the scandal. Caroline Marcus (2010, np) of The Sydney
Morning Herald lists several of Bingle's alleged suitors such as
"Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim," "former fling Craig
Wing" as well as her "many [emphasis added] friends in the
surfing world," having been romantically "linked to at least
two--Taj Burrow and Kai Otton." By focusing on Bingle's
relationship history, Marcus discursively constructs Bingle as
promiscuous and therefore salaciously newsworthy. It is also implied
that she is a woman who fails to meet the standards and expectations for
female behaviour appropriate to her class and race. In scrutinising
Bingle's behaviour and sexual past, such articles can be seen to
perpetuate what social commentator Emily Maguire identifies as
society's "hatred and disgust for the promiscuous woman"
(Maguire 2008, p. 24). This is despite the popular belief that young,
western women are sexually liberated, empowered and autonomous (Gill
2007b, Walter 2010). From the accounts offered here, it would appear
that women continue to be judged according to sexual standards in a way
that men are not.

Another article builds on this condemnation by constructing Bingle
as sexually forward. It states that:

Former Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said he told [Bingle] that
Fevola was married before they embarked on their affair. Rumours have
swirled around Bingle all week. Her friendship with British DJ and
neighbour Carl Kennedy was thrust into the spotlight after she kicked in
his door a week ago (Benns & Marcus 2010, np).

This article presents Bingle as being aggressive in her pursuit of
sexual conquests by allegedly pursuing the married Fevola and even
kicking down a door to get to a man that she desires. Bingle's
behaviour can be seen as subverting a sexual script in which women are
expected to play the role of passive object to the active, male, sexual
agent (Travis, McGinnis & Bardari 2007, p. 297-298, Messner and Sabo
1994, p. 38). Hence women like Lara Bingle, according to academics Shari
L. Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs (cited in Toffoletti 2007, p. 433), are
seen as being "responsible for tempting male sports stars into
promiscuity." Furthermore, given the key role that heterosexuality
plays in the definition and performance of sporting masculinity, it
would be considered abnormal for AFL footballer Fevola to refuse
Bingle's advances (Mewett & Toffoletti 2008, p. 174). In
contrast, the sexually aggressive female is regarded as a dangerous
figure, due to the fact that she transgresses the boundaries of what is
deemed appropriate sexual conduct for white, middle-class women, which
academics Lisa Disch and Mary Jo Kane define as being "receptive
and deferential to male power" (cited in Mewett & Toffoletti
2008, p. 170).

Coverage of the scandal precipitated dialogue and debate about the
problematic nature of the gender myths and stereotypes about female
sexuality circulating in media accounts. A number of reports emerged
that questioned the characterization of Bingle's sexual demeanour
as exceeding the limits of what might be considered acceptable for women
of her class and race background. The Daily Telegraph journalist Claire
Harvey (2010, np) asks, "Ever heard anyone whispering about how ...
footballers are total man-whores, shagging their way around Bondi? No,
because nobody talks about male sexuality like that." Other
commentators condemn the blame afforded to Bingle for Fevola's
adultery. As The Age's chief football writer Caroline Wilson (2010,
np) points out, "in 2006, [Fevola] certainly didn't act like
his marriage meant very much," a view supported by The Age
commentator Miranda Devine (2010, np) who reminds readers that it was
Fevola "with the wife and kids," not single Bingle. As author
and The Age commentator John Birmingham (2010, np) comments, "why
didn't someone tell Brendan Fevola that Brendan Fevola was
married?" but then reminds readers that as Fevola is a sportsman
then "he gets a free pass" (Birmingham 2010, np). The Daily
Telegraph's Sarrah Le Marquand (2010, np) takes a similar moral
position arguing that, "while Bingle was guilty of being young and
foolish, it was Fevola alone who reneged on his wedding vows"
(2010, np). These articles ignore the issues surrounding the publication
of the photograph and instead draw attention to the personal
circumstances of those primarily involved--Bingle and Fevola. While
articles that focus on Bingle's alleged promiscuity and lack of
sexual passivity allude to the sexual double standard that still exists
in contemporary Australian society, other articles have criticised this
state of affairscondemning the notion that women are responsible for
male promiscuity and more specifically, that Bingle is to blame for
Fevola's adultery. In the debate emerging from the reporting of the
scandal, we identify the potential of public discourse to challenge
long-held social ideals whereby women are stigmatised "for any hint
of their sexuality" (Wolf 1998, p. 240).

Femininity and Masculinity on Trial

Michael Clarke's decision to return to Australia following his
fiancee's paid magazine interview--despite being on tour in New
Zealand--attracted the criticism of Australian cricket commentators who,
through various articles, upheld hegemonic ideals of what it means to be
a man and a woman in contemporary Australian society. The Age's
cricket commentator at the time of the scandal, Peter Roebuck, in his
article 'Time for Clarke to decide on his career path,' casts
Clark as an emasculated figure. Roebuck (2010, np) compares Clarke to
Mark Antony--the Roman warlord whose romantic and political alliance
with Cleopatra ended in his downfall--stating that "obsession can
be a man's undoing." In this scenario Bingle is Cleopatra, the
beautiful, albeit ultimately dangerous, woman who matched (if not
superseded) Antony in terms of power and influence. Narratives of the
sportman's potential demise at the hands of an attractive woman are
nothing new, as demonstrated in analyses of media accounts of male
sporting celebrities like golfer Tiger Woods, footballer David Beckham
and cricketer Brian Lara (Rowe 2010, Whannel 2001). Rowe argues that
unless women conform to the nurturing role of compliant wife and mother,
they are cast within media discourse as seducers and distracters who
threaten to jeopardise the sportsman's on-field performance (Rowe
2010, p.69). Bingle, as a celebrity competitor to Clark for the media
spotlight, presents a particular threat to a gender order predicated on
masculine authority. Like Cleopatra and Victoria Beckham, Bingle's
fame rivals that of her ex-partner. Such a union, as Rowe explains,

... disturbs the conventional conjugal order wherein the riches
garnered by the male sports star (the vast gender majority of highly
renumerated athletes) reproduces the traditionalist male
breadwinner/female homemaker structure that has been significantly
eroded in the wider world. The question of 'who rules the hearth
and home?' is raised where superior male earning power and prestige
cannot be easily established (Rowe 2010, pp.71-2).

In partnering with a woman whose celebrity status threatens to
undermine the primacy of male sporting endeavours, Clarke's
commitment to the Australian cricket team is questioned. As Roebuck
(2010, np) states, "it is no small thing for a vice-captain to walk
out on a team at any stage." In his opinion, returning home is only
considered appropriate when a player hears some "dreadful news of a
family loss, impending or completed" (Roebuck 2010, np).
Bingle's situation, in Roebuck's (2010, np) view, was
"bad news," yet "pertained to disarray as opposed to
crisis." Clarke is constructed as having over-reacted by returning
home and abandoning his responsibilities--compromising his position as a
traditional exemplar of hegemonic masculinity in the process. Hence,
Roebuck (2010, np) concludes that Cricket Australia will now be
"reluctant to put the national team completely in his hands."
Clarke is perceived as being "a little off track" (Roebuck
2010, np) and as a result, is constructed as failing to embody the
single-mindedness valorised in the male sporting star, hence failing to
carry out his 'proper' duties as the vice-captain of the
Australian cricket team.

An article by The Age journalist Will Swanton heavily employs the
views of respected Australian cricket icons--former Test captain, Ian
Chappell and former Test player, Mark Waugh--and in doing so,
Clarke's 'difference' to past occupants of the captaincy
is unfavourably emphasised. Chappell supports the view that Clarke will
have duties to team and country--"to be there all the time"
(cited in Swanton 2010, np) as the future captain of the Australian
cricket team. Chappell states that there have "always [been] very
durable guys as captains, [who are there] all the time" (cited in
Swanton 2010, np). By returning home, Clarke is constructed as not
robust, or masculine, enough to be a suitable candidate for the
captaincy of the team--a role that is considered by some to be "the
most important job [in Australia] after the prime ministership"
(Smith 2009, np). Waugh is critical of the undesirable fact that
Clarke's "personal life has encroached on his cricket"
(cited in Swanton 2010, np). As a result, Clarke, who, as the Australian
Cricket Captain, can be regarded as an "exemplar of
masculinity" (Connell & Messerschmidt 2005, p. 846), is seen as
failing to uphold what is deemed to be a key feature of traditional
masculinity-to be a "Sturdy Oak" (Kimmel 2004, np). According
to sociologist Michael Kimmel (2004, np), what has "traditionally
made men reliable in a crisis" has also, by consequence, made them
emotionally unavailable to others, such as a partner like Bingle. Waugh
also comments that hopefully this dereliction of duty is a
"oneoff" (cited in Swanton 2010, np). He also states that
"Michael would like to lead a much quieter life" (cited in
Swanton 2010, np), implying that Clarke is also of the opinion that
Bingle is failing to embody the model of "emphasised
femininity" (1) (Connell, 1987, p. 187) expected of the partner
(and future wife) of an Australian cricketer. Academics Ben Clayton and
John Harris (2004, p. 332), in relation to English soccer players, argue
that "a wife's role ... is established as being entirely
functional--domestic, supportive and calming." When this is not the
case, "media discourse tends to degrade and emasculate the
player" (Clayton & Harris 2004, p. 332). Such a trend is
clearly evident in the views of Roebuck, Chappell and Waugh, who
construct Clarke as an emasculated and irresponsible figure, who, by
returning to Australia for the sake of his fiancee, has not only failed
as a cricketer, but as a man.

Roebuck's article upholds the expectation that the wives and
girlfriends of sportsmen, or WAGS as they are popularly known, ideally
should be "passive, supportive [and] decorative" (Wedgwood
2008, p.5). This is achieved through the sports writer's
characterization of Bingle as "a beautiful young woman ...
[However] restaurateurs complain about her manners and the poor company
she keeps. Fashionistas talk of her headstrong ways and dubious customs
... She craves attention and courts controversy" (Roebuck 2010,
np). By casting Bingle as a beautiful but dangerous and deviant figure,
he implies that her behaviour is at odds with the expectations of what a
celebrity sportsman's partner should be. While Roebuck attributes
to Bingle a key aspect of emphasised femininity-beauty-he simultaneously
portrays her as a rude, attention-seeking and classless figure through,
for instance, the trivial attention afforded to her alleged behaviour in
restaurants. As a result, it is suggested that Bingle is clearly
unsuited for the role of cricketer's wife, let alone the wife of
the future captain of Australia.

Roebuck (2010, np) goes on to state that:

In contrast to the ideal of a cricketer's wife, this
perception of Bingle can be seen as echoing academic Pamela
Morokoff's research on American views of female sexual
assertiveness; being constructed as "ruinous to men because she
leads them away from their self-interests and social obligations"
(Morokoff, 2000, p. 302-303). Roebuck's moralising and criticism of
Bingle is evidence of what Maguire (2008, p. 40) deems society's
"harsh view of women who don't work to obtain the feminine
norm." Whilst Bingle is beautiful, she is not regarded as
fulfilling the other desirable characteristics of the 'ideal'
cricket WAG--to be compliant, dutiful, deferential and supportive.

As identified throughout this article, there is evidence that
hegemonic gender ideals are contested through the mechanics of this
media scandal. This challenge extends to conceptualisations of sporting
masculinity. Far from regarding him as an emasculated figure, for some
Clarke is celebrated for his dedication to Bingle: he is
"thoughtful, supportive, dedicated and brave"; "just the
man" (Seear 2010, np) for the Australian captaincy; a
"gentleman, who did the right thing by his fiancee" (Devine
2010, np). These views add weight to the notion that the concept of
hegemonic masculinity is in need of revision. As Connell observes, many
of these "hegemonic ideals" do not correspond to the
"actual personalities of the majority of men" (Connell, 1987,
p. 184). Several articles are similarly critical of the notions of
"emphasised femininity" (Connell, 1987, p. 187) put forward by
the comments of Roebuck, Chappell and Waugh. Writing in The Age, Gideon
Haigh (2010, np) condemns Roebuck's endorsement of "the model
of a cricket wife [as] a kind of doting but distant pastoral carer who
refrained from making any extra demands" and his "dubious and
dated moralising." Likewise, Bella Counihan's (2010, np)
commentary in The Age, is condemnatory of the "Yokolike blame"
afforded to Bingle--that is, the implication that she is "breaking
up" the Australian Cricket Team, just as Yoko Ono is popularly
blamed for driving apart The Beatles. In addition, The Australian
journalist David Penberthy suggests that Bingle now has the potential to
be seen as a "new feminist symbol" (2010, np).

It is perhaps unsurprising that the views of some members of the
Australian cricket fraternity--whether commentators or past
icons--uphold notions of hegemonic masculinity and emphasised
femininity. Clarke's decision to return to Australia means that his
commitment and masculinity is called into question, as is Bingle's
suitability to be the 'proper' partner to the future
Australian Cricket Captain. What seems more notable, and encouraging, is
the presence of articles contesting these narrow gender ideals. Far from
being an emasculated figure, Clarke is represented as embodying
qualities to which men should aspire. Similarly, some commentators are
critical of what they perceive as the dated and unjustified criticism
that has been afforded to Bingle and even entertain the prospect of her
potential as a new feminist icon.

Conclusion

Scandals, particularly sex scandals, provide a timely reminder of
the disparities that continue to exist in wider societal views of gender
relations, with the "outbreak" of scandal leading to the
espousal and reaffirmation of "certain values, norms or moral
codes" (Thompson 1997, p. 39). Analysing media scandal through a
gender lens necessarily involves interrogating not only the stereotypes
associated with female sexuality in the media, but the contestations of
such stereotypes. In mapping the discursive construction of gender in
media coverage of the Bingle-Fevola scandal, we acknowledge that a range
of complex and contradictory discourses emerge around what constitutes
'acceptable' articulations of femininity and masculinity.
Nonetheless, it is possible to put forth some general observations about
gender attitudes as they appear in mainstream media accounts of the
Bingle-Fevola scandal. Firstly, coverage of this scandal demonstrates
that within in increasingly hypersexualised and celebrity-oriented media
environment, it is considered appropriate to publish nude photographs of
women in the public eye without seeking consent. Secondly, it suggests
that sexual double standards remain active in Australian society, even
though they are questioned by some sections of the media. Thirdly, it
appears that ideals of emphasised femininity, as well as hegemonic
masculinity, remain pervasive, despite challenges to prescriptive gender
roles in popular cultural imagery and discourse. Coverage of this
scandal also upholds a conservative notion of desirable femininity as
white, affluent, glamorous and successful, suggesting those public
figures who conform to this 'celebrified' version of
femininity in contemporary Australian society are likely to attract
media coverage. It could be viewed as encouraging, however, that media
accounts, to varying degrees, contest the sexual rhetoric that
contributes to the production and maintenance of gender inequality.

In hindsight, the Bingle-Fevola scandal may represent the beginning
of a range of scandals of this type, whereby technology, celebrity,
sport and sex intersect. In late 2010, a similar scandal erupted (dubbed
'Dikileaks') involving the unconsensual distribution of nude
photographs of footballers from the St Kilda Football Club by a
seventeen-year-old girl alleging mistreatment (Kissane 2010, np). In
regards to the scandal that formed the basis for this article, we
identify the media as a potential site for the contestation of longheld
gender myths, which include the notion of women as objects, that it is
socially unacceptable for women to be sexually active, and that
emphasised femininity demands a woman be (amongst other things) passive
and undemanding of her male partner. Additionally, as a result of the
criticism of some of the coverage, a social re-assessment of what it
means to be a man may also take place so that the loyalty of a man such
as Michael Clarke towards his fiancee is seen as a desirable trait,
rather than a flaw. However, given how deeply ingrained such notions are
within society, such a re-assessment could be difficult to achieve.

Endnotes

(1.) R.W. Connell argues that there is no model of femininity that
is directly equivalent to hegemonic masculinity (1987, p. 187). This is
due to the fact that "all forms of femininity in this society are
constructed in the context of the overall subordination of women to
men" (p. 186-187). As a result, Connell classifies the femininity
that possesses the "dominant cultural and ideological support"
(1987, p. 187) of a particular period as "emphasised
femininity" (p. 187).

Rowe, D 2004, Sport, Culture and the Media: The Unruly Trinity,
Open University Press, Maidenhead, UK.

Rowe, D 2006, The Stuff of Dreams or the Dream Stuffed? Rugby
League, Media Empires, Sex Scandals and Global Plays, The Australian
Society for Sports History and the Tom Brock Bequest Committee, New
South Wales.